Netanyahu won't back Romney on Israel rhetoric

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is declining to endorse Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's charge that President Barack Obama has "thrown allies like Israel under the bus" during his first term in office.

In an interview aired Sunday on NBC's "Meet The Press," Netanyahu initially demurred on Romney's comments, but then appeared to distance himself from the GOP candidate's inflammatory charge.

"You're trying to get me into the American election and I'm not going to do that," the Israeli prime minister said.

Pressed by host David Gregory, Netanyahu seemed to suggest that the "under-the-bus" charge is not one he would endorse.

"There you go again, David. You're trying to draw me into something that is simply not the case, and it's not my position," Netanyahu said. "There's no bus, and we’re not going to get into that discussion…The only bus that is really important is the Iranian nuclear bus. That’s the one we have to derail. And that's my interest - my only interest."

Earlier in the interview, Netanyahu said he was convinced that both Obama and Romney were intent on preventing Iran from going nuclear. But the prime minister didn't quite say that the policies the two men would pursue were identical or equally wise.

"I have no doubt that they’re equally committed to preventing that. It’s a vital American interest….We’re united on this across the board," Netanyahu said.